Personal home voice portal

ABSTRACT

A method of accessing voice services through a personal computing system can include receiving, in the personal computing system, a telephone call from a user registered with the personal computing system, wherein the user is remotely located from the personal computing system, receiving a user spoken utterance over the telephone call, and speech recognizing the user spoken utterance to determine a request for a voice service. The method further can include formatting an electronic message according to the request for a voice service and sending the electronic message over a communications network to a remote computing system in accordance with the request for a voice service. Also, the method can include processing and formatting a response received from the remote computing system and playing back audio to the user over the telephone call.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/705,328, filed Nov. 10, 2003, entitled “PERSONAL HOME VOICE PORTAL,”which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of voice services and, moreparticularly, to providing access to network-based information servicesthrough a personal computer system.

2. Description of the Related Art

A portal is a Web site that serves as an entry point for accessinginformation. A portal effectively provides a central network locationthrough which users can access information such as news, weatherreports, stock quotes, electronic mail, and the like. Typically, thecontent provided through a portal and the manner in which the content isprovided can be customized by the user. Accordingly, each user is ableto access and view personalized information as well as various servicesthrough the portal in a user-specific manner.

The primary mechanism for accessing portals has been through Web-enableddevices. Specifically, users have accessed portals via home computersystems having suitable Internet connections. So long as the user hasaccess to such a computer system, the user can obtain information andother services from the portal.

When away from the computer system, the user still may access a portal,albeit through some sort of wireless, Internet-enabled device.Traditionally, cellular telephones, for example those configured tocommunicate using Wireless Access Protocol (WAP), have provided userswith access to portals. Despite the mobility afforded by cellulartelephones, users are restricted to accessing information and servicesthrough small visual displays incorporated within the cellulartelephone.

In any case, to access information from a Web portal, users have beenrestricted to using devices having Internet connections. Moreover, userstypically must subscribe to a fee service to access personalizedinformation when mobile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method, system, and apparatus foraccessing Web content using voice commands through a telephonyconnection. In particular, the present invention allows a user to call ahome computer system and request information or services over theestablished call. The home computer system can obtain the requestedinformation or perform the user requested service. As such, the user canaccess information and content on the Internet, for example from a Webportal, through the user's own computer system. By allowing access toWeb portals and other services such as electronic mail and instantmessaging through a telephone, the need to subscribe to additionalwireless and other paid services can be eliminated, or at leastminimized.

One aspect of the present invention can include a method of accessingvoice services through a personal computing system. The method caninclude receiving, in the personal computing system, a telephone callfrom a user registered with the personal computing system, wherein theuser is remotely located from the personal computing system, receiving auser spoken utterance over the telephone call, and speech recognizingthe user spoken utterance to determine a request for a voice service.The method also can include formatting an electronic message accordingto the request for a voice service and sending the electronic messageover a communications network to a remote computing system in accordancewith the request for a voice service.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the request can be a requestfor content from a remote computing system. In that case, the formattingstep can include building an electronic message to be sent over theInternet. The method also can include receiving content in the personalcomputing system from the remote computing system, converting thecontent to speech audio in the personal computing system, and playingthe audio to the user over the telephone call.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the request can be arequest to send an electronic mail. Accordingly, the method can includereceiving at least one additional user spoken utterance and convertingthe additional user spoken utterance to text. Notably, the formattingstep can build an electronic mail to be sent in the sending step. Thespeech recognized text can be included within the electronic mail.

In yet another embodiment, the request can be a request to send aninstant message. Accordingly, the method can include receiving at leastone additional user spoken utterance and converting the additional userspoken utterance to text. In that case, the formatting step can includebuilding an instant message to be sent in the sending step. The instantmessage can include the speech recognized text.

Another aspect of the present invention can include a system foraccessing voice services through a personal computing system. The systemcan include an interface for receiving telephone calls within thepersonal computing system and a speech recognition system disposedwithin the personal computing system for converting user utterancesreceived over established telephone calls to text. The system also caninclude a service engine configured to receive speech recognized textfrom the speech recognition system, identify user requests from thetext, generate messages according to the user requests, and send themessages to at least one remote computing system via a communicationsnetwork.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the system can include atext-to-speech engine disposed within the personal computing system forconverting received text to speech to be played over establishedtelephone calls. The service engine can receive content responsive tothe sent messages and provide the content to the text-to-speech engineto be rendered as speech.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the serviceengine can include an electronic mail interface configured to generatemessages, for example electronic mail messages, according to userrequests. The service engine also can include an instant messaginginterface configured to generate messages according to user requests,wherein the messages are instant messages. Still, the service engine caninclude a Hypertext Transfer Protocol interface configured to formatuser requests for transmission over the Internet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presentlypreferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for accessingInternet-based content via a telephony connection through a personalcomputing system in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment a personalhome voice portal in accordance with the inventive arrangementsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of accessing informationand/or services from network locations via a telephony connection and ahome computing system in accordance with the inventive arrangementsdisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 100 for accessingInternet-based content via a telephony connection through a personalcomputing system in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. As shown, system 100 can include one or more phonescommunicatively linked with a personal computing system 105 via anetwork such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 110. Thepersonal computing system 105 is communicatively linked with one or moreservers via the communications network 115.

Wireless phone 120 can be a cellular telephone or other wirelesscommunications device that can be communicatively linked to the PSTN 110through a relay station or tower 125. Phone 130 can be a conventionallandline telephone that can be communicatively linked to the PSTN 110via a central office or other telephony switching system. The phone 130can include any telephone that is remotely located from the computingsystem 105, including but not limited to public telephones. InternetProtocol (IP) phone 135 can be communicatively linked to the PSTN 110via a server 140 or other gateway mechanism capable of interfacing anIP-based communications network with the PSTN 110.

It should be appreciated that the examples disclosed herein have beenprovided for purposes of illustration only. As such, the presentinvention is not limited by the particular type of communications deviceused. Rather, the present invention can be practiced with any of avariety of communications devices that can send and receive voicesignals and/or dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals over the PSTN.

The personal computing system 105 can be any of a variety of computingand/or information processing devices capable of connecting to the PSTN110 and a communications network 115 such as the Internet, the WorldWide Web (Web), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN),or the like. For example, the personal computing system 105 can beimplemented as a conventional, home desktop computer having a modem, aportable computer such as a laptop, also having a modem, or some otherinformation processing appliance configured to function as describedherein.

The personal computing system 105 can include a personal home voiceportal (not shown) which allows a user to call the personal computingsystem 105 from a remote location using a telephony device as describedherein. The personal home voice portal (PHVP) can receive user spokencommands, dictation, and DTMF signals causing the personal computingsystem 105 to initiate some sort of action. For example, the PHVP allowsa user to access information and/or services from a portal server 145,send and receive instant messages (IM's) via IM server 150, and send andreceive electronic mail (e-mail) via e-mail server 155. The PHVP caninclude text-to-speech and speech recognition functionality such thatthe user can perform the aforementioned functions through speechcommands, dictation, DTMF signaling, or any combination thereof.

The personal computing system 105 can be communicatively linked to oneor more servers such as the portal server 145, the IM server 150, andthe e-mail server 155 through the communications network 115. While theIM server 150 and the e-mail server 155 can be dedicated to a particularuse, the portal server 145 can provide an assortment of services such ase-mail, news, financial information such as stock quotes, and otherservices such as list serves and groups. The portal server 145 can becustomized for use by each user. That is, a user can configure theportal server 145 to provide only those services that are desired by theuser. Typically, a user is able to register with the portal server 145.The user then can personalize one or more Web pages on the portal sever145 which can be accessed with the appropriate username, password,and/or other authentication mechanism. Each Web page can include contentselected by the user. Still, it should be appreciated that the personalcomputing system 105 can be communicatively linked to one or more otherWeb-based servers, whether subscription based or freely accessible.

In operation, a user can initiate a telephone call from the wirelessphone 120, the phone 130, and/or the IP phone 135. The call can bedirected to the user's own personal computing system 105, for exampleone located within the user's home. The user, after logging on to thepersonal computing system 105 and being authenticated, can issue one ormore voice commands. The user can request information from the portalserver 145, send an e-mail, check for received-e-mails, send IM's, andreceive IM's.

For example, the user can issue a verbal request to send an e-mail. Theuser can specify the name of a user or an e-mail address to which thee-mail is to be sent. The user can proceed to dictate the body of thee-mail and then command the PHVP to send the e-mail. The PHVP caninclude, or interact with, an e-mail client which can forward the e-mailto the e-mail server 155.

In another example, the user can request one or more stock quotes overthe telephone line. The PHVP can log into the portal server 145 onbehalf of the user. The user request can be speech recognized andconverted to text by the PHVP, formatted as a hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP) request, and forwarded to the portal server 145. ThePHVP can receive the requested content and convert the content to speechto be played to the user over the telephone call.

The inventive arrangements disclosed herein provide a calling user withaccess to personalized services, whether by accessing services for whichthe user has registered on a remote server such as portal server 145, byaccessing an address book or other information stored on the personalcomputing system 105, or by accessing e-mail or instant messaging on thepersonal computing system 105, the IM server 150, and the e-mail server155. Further, while the personal computer system 105 can answer callsfrom the telephony devices illustrated in FIG. 1, those skilled in theart will recognize that the personal computing system 105 does notfunction as a conventional server. In particular, the personal computingsystem 105 does not exercise administrative control over a plurality ofclients. That is, the personal computing system 105 functions as aclient with respect to accessing the portal server 145, the IM server150, and the e-mail server 155. The various telephony devices that callinto the personal computing system 105 cannot be administered orcontrolled through the personal computing system 105.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a PHVP 200in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. The PHVP200 can include a telephony interface 205 such as a modem, a speechrecognition system (SRS) 210, a text-to-speech (US) engine 215, and aservice engine 220. In one embodiment of the present invention, the PHVP200 can include an HTTP interface 225, an IM interface 230, and ane-mail interface 235. Alternatively, the PHVP 200 can be configured tointeract with other software applications configured to provide suchfunctionality. For example, the PHVP 200 can be configured to interactwith a browser, an IM client, and/or an e-mail client.

The telephony interface 205 can receive incoming telephone calls fromthe PSTN. The telephony interface 205 also can perform analog-to-digitaland digital-to-analog conversions of audio, whether speech and/or DTMFsignals, exchanged between the PSTN and the PHVP 200. The SRS 210, as isknown in the art, can convert received audio to textual equivalents. Inone embodiment of the present invention, the SRS 210 can performspeaker-independent speech recognition and/or device dependent speechrecognition. That is, the user can create an enrollment with the SRS 210as well as one or more enrollments for each telephony device the userwishes to use with the PHVP 200. The enrollment process increases speechrecognition accuracy as the SRS 210 learns the manner in which the userspeaks and the audio characteristics of the telephony device used. Inanother embodiment, however, the SRS 210 can perform speaker-dependentand/or device independent speech recognition. The TTS engine 215 canreceive text and produce an audio output. That is, the TTS engine 215can generate speech or spoken equivalents of received text.

The HTTP interface 225 provides functionality for interacting with Webpages and/or portals. The HTTP interface 225 can format requests to besent over a communications network and decode information received inresponse to a request. It should be appreciated that any of a variety ofdifferent types of requests can be formatted and decoded through theHTTP interface 225. For example, the HTTP interface 225 can processrequests and responses conforming to File Transfer Protocol (FTP),Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), HTTP, and other types ofcommunication protocols which can be used to communicate over acommunications network.

The IM interface 230 can format messages as IM's for sending over acommunications network as well as receive and decode IM's for use by theservice engine 220. Similarly, the e-mail interface 235 can formate-mails for sending over a communications network and receive and decodee-mails for use by the service engine 220.

The service engine 220 can coordinate the actions of the variouscomponents of the PHVP 200. In particular, the service engine 220 canreceive speech recognized text from the SRS 210 and process the text todetermine one or more user desired functions or operations. The serviceengine 220 further can provide text to the TTS engine 215 to be renderedas audio. For example, the service engine 220 can route content receivedvia the HTTP interface 235, the IM interface 230, and the e-mailinterface 235 to the TTS engine 215 for playback as speech. Accordingly,the audio can be played to the user over an established telephone callvia the telephony interface 205.

The service engine 220 can format the text of IM's, electronic mails, orother Web content such as Web pages for playback through the TTS engine215. For example, the service engine 220 can remove markup languagetagging or other extraneous annotations not needed or understood by theTTS engine 215 as well as add annotations that can be understood by theTTS engine 215. In one embodiment, the service engine 220 can includerules for removing markup language, symbols, and/or text that may beused by the HTTP interface 225, the IM interface 230, and/or the e-mailinterface 235. The service engine 215 also can annotate text that isbeing provided to the TTS engine 215 to control the manner in which thetext is to be read or played to the user. For example, the serviceengine 215 can annotate the text to add pauses between data fields,stock quotes, or other items in a list. Pauses also can be added betweenthe subject and body portions of an e-mail, as the case may. Theinsertion of pauses can facilitate a smooth and logical playback ofcontent, whether from a Web page, an IM, or an e-mail.

The service engine 220 also can determine the particular action orservice being requested by the user. If no further information isrequired to perform the user specified action, the service engine 220can instruct the HTTP interface 225, the IM interface 230, and/or thee-mail interface 235 to perform the user-specified action. If necessary,the service engine 220 can cause the TTS engine 215 to prompt the userfor additional required information and/or dictation. Any userresponses, whether speech or DTMF input, can be processed by the SRS 210and provided to the service engine 220 for processing. Informationreceived by the service engine 220, whether content from the HTTPinterface 225, received IM's from the IM interface 230, and/or receivede-mails from the e-mail interface 235 can be provided to the TTS engine215 for playback to the user over the telephone call.

The PHVP 200 can include a data store 240 having one or more userprofiles. Each user profile can specify associations of user requestsand corresponding actions. For example, user requests for stock quotescan be associated with a particular Web portal with which the user hasregistered for an account. When a user request for a stock quote isreceived and matched with the stock quote request stored in the user'sprofile, the action associated with the matched request in the userprofile can be performed. Continuing with the illustration, theinformation source specified in the user profile that is associated withstock quote request can be accessed or queried for the user specifiedinformation. Notably, the user profile further can include any usernamesand/or passwords that may be necessary for the service engine 220 to logon to a Web portal or other subscription service on behalf of the user.

Similar associations can be stored in the profile for requests to sende-mails, instant messages, and the like. By comparing the speechrecognized text of the user request with requests specified in the userprofile, the service engine 220 can communicate with the HTTP interface225 to send requests and receive electronic content, the IM interface230 to send and receive IM's, and the e-mail interface 235 to send andreceive e-mails.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 of accessinginformation and/or services from network locations via a telephonyconnection and home computing system in accordance with one embodimentof the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. The method 300 can beginin a state where a user is remotely located from his or her own personalcomputer system, but has telephony access. Accordingly, in step 305, theuser can initiate a telephone call to the user's personal computingsystem. For example, the user can dial the user's home telephone number.

In step 310, the PHVP can answer the received telephone call. Forexample, the PHVP, operating within the user's personal computingsystem, can be configured to answer telephone calls received in the homeor answer a particular line. In step 315, once the PHVP has answered thetelephone call, the user or caller can be authenticated by the PHVPsystem. The user can provide a username and/or password, whether in theform of user speech and/or DTMF signals. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, biometric methods of authentication can be performed.For example, voice print technology can be used to authenticate theuser. In any case, once the user is identified, a profile for the usercan be selected.

In step 320, the PHVP optionally can identify the device used by theuser to initiate the call. The PHVP can provide audio prompts, ifnecessary, or simply recognize user speech or DTMF signals indicatingthe type of device used to initiate the call. For example, since thePHVP operates in the user's personal computing system, the user can makemultiple enrollments with the SRS. Each enrollment can pertain to aspecific telephony or voice communications device. In illustration, theuser can enroll using a cellular telephone, an IP phone, or any otherdevice with which the user may choose to initiate a telephone call. Eachenrollment stores the audio channel characteristics of the device usedto make the enrollment as well as the user's speech characteristics. Byselecting an enrollment corresponding with the device being used for acall, increased accuracy of speech recognition can be achieved.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the user can select aparticular profile after being identified to the PHVP. Each profile canspecify a particular enrollment, and therefore telephony device, to beused for the duration of the call. Each profile further can specifydifferent sources of information to be used for given tasks. Forexample, one profile for a user can specify that stock quotes are to beaccessed from a “paid for” service and that e-mail is to be accessedfrom a first e-mail account. A second user profile for the same user canspecify that stock quotes are to be obtained from a free Web portal andthat a different e-mail account is to be checked. This enables the userto have, for example, a business profile and a personal profile, eachaccessing different sources of information and designed for use withdifferent types of telephony equipment.

Having identified both the user and the particular device being used toinitiate the telephone call, an enrollment for the caller can be loadedin step 325. As noted, the selected enrollment can correspond not onlywith the user, but also can correspond with the type of telephony devicebeing used by the caller for the duration of the call. While the method300 illustrates an embodiment where speaker and device dependent speechrecognition is performed, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe present invention is not so limited. Rather, speaker-independentand/or device-independent speech recognition also can be used.

In step 330, the PHVP can receive a user request for a service over theestablished telephone call. The request for service can be a request forcontent from a Web site, a portal, or other remote information source, arequest to check e-mail, send or compose e-mail, check for receivedIM's, compose IM's, send IM's, or the like. In step 335, the speechrecognized text of the user request can be compared with the selecteduser profile. The text can be matched with a particular requestspecified in the user profile. The action associated with the matchedrequest can then be implemented.

In step 340, the PHVP can log on to a server with which the user hasbeen registered as specified by the action associated with the matcheduser profile request, whether a portal server, an IM server, or ane-mail server. For example, if the user has requested stock quoteinformation, and if specified in the user profile, the PHVP can log onto the user's portal account to download personalized information, inthis case stock information such as quotes from a personalized portfoliobeing maintained online. If the user has asked to compose or accesse-mail, the PHVP can log on to the user's e-mail account on a remoteserver. If the user has requested more generalized information that canbe obtained from a data source that does not require a subscription, thePHVP need not log on to a server to obtain the information, but ratherquery a general information service.

In step 345, if necessary, the PHVP can query the user for anyadditional information needed by the system to perform and/or completethe user-specified task. For example, the additional information caninclude one or more addresses to which a message is to be sent,dictation to be inserted within the body portion of an electroniccommunication, or the like. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe PHVP can be configured to carry on a dialog with the user to obtainany needed information.

In step 350, the received data, as well as any data determined oraccessed by the PHVP, for example from the user profile, can beformatted according to the received user request. For instance, if theuser request was to compose and/or send an e-mail, the receiveddictation and any specified e-mail addresses can be inserted into ane-mail message. Similarly, speech recognized text can be inserted intoan IM or be incorporated into an HTTP request.

In step 355, the formatted data can be forwarded to a remote computersystem. Thus, for example, a formatted e-mail can be sent, a formattedIM can be sent, an HTTP request can be sent, or a request to downloadnew e-mail can be sent. It should be appreciated that if the messagesent in step 355 is one which invokes a response, then the response canbe processed by the service engine and provided to the TTS engine forplayback to the user. In illustration, content received responsive to anHTTP request can be played back to the user. Retrieved e-mails orreceived IM's also can be played back to the user.

In any case, in step 360, a response from the remote computer system canbe received in the PHVP in the user's personal computing system. Theresponse can be an indication as to whether the user requested operationwas successfully performed or can be information that was requested bythe user, and therefore the PHVP. For example, the PHVP can receive anindication that an e-mail or an IM was successfully sent. If the userrequested financial information, that information can be received.

In step 365, the response can be processed or converted into audio bythe PHVP. The received message can be parsed to extract text. Forexample, extraneous information such as tags or header information canbe removed so that only content is extracted from the received message.Additionally, the prosodic characteristics of the content can be alteredto make the resulting audio sound more natural. For example, the textcan be annotated to insert pauses between tab or comma delineated data,columns, and the like. Other prosodic characteristics such as syllablestress can be altered as well. The resulting content can be provided tothe TTS engine of the PHVP to be rendered as audio. In step 370, theresulting audio can be played by the PHVP to the user over theestablished telephone call.

The present invention provides a personalized voice portal that enablesa user to access various Web content and Internet-based subscriptionservices using a personal computing system and a telephony device. Bycalling the user's own personal computing system, the user can accesspersonalized and customized data, for example from a Web portal, viaphone. Accordingly, the user listen to an audible rendition of therequested data over a telephone call without having to subscribe toadditional fee-based, mobile information services.

The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The present invention can berealized in a centralized fashion in one computer system, or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be a generalpurpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loadedand executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out themethods described herein.

The present invention also can be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computersystem, is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in thepresent context means any expression, in any language, code or notation,of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form.

This invention can be embodied in other forms without departing from thespirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should bemade to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for remotely requesting informationand/or services from at least one remote service server through apersonal computer, the method comprising steps of: receiving, at thepersonal computer, a telephone call from a user that is registered withthe personal computer, wherein the telephone call is a call originatingfrom a device remote from the personal computer; receiving a user spokenutterance over the telephone call; performing speech recognition on theuser spoken utterance to determine a request for information and/or aservice; formatting an electronic message according to the request;using one or more client software applications executing on the personalcomputer to send the electronic message over a communication networkfrom the personal computer to the at least one remote service server andto receive content at the personal computer from the at least one remoteservice server; converting the content to speech audio at the personalcomputer; and playing the speech audio to the user over the telephonecall.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said formatting step comprisesbuilding an electronic message to be sent over the Internet.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the request comprises a request to send anelectronic mail, wherein the one or more client software applicationscomprises an electronic mail client application, said method furthercomprising: receiving at least one additional user spoken utterance; andconverting the at least one additional user spoken utterance tospeech-recognized text, wherein said formatting step comprises building,via the electronic mail client application, an electronic mail to besent from the personal computer to the at least one remote serviceserver and including the speech-recognized text in the electronic mail.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request comprises a request tosend an instant message, wherein the one or more client softwareapplications comprises an instant message client application, saidmethod further comprising: receiving at least one additional user spokenutterance; and converting the at least one additional user spokenutterance to speech-recognized text, wherein said formatting stepcomprises building, via the instant message client application, aninstant message to be sent from the personal computer to the at leastone remote service server and including the speech-recognized text inthe instant message.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the personalcomputer is in the user's home.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thepersonal computer is owned by the user.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the personal computer comprises a portable computer.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the user pays no fee to an owner of thepersonal computer for access to the personal computer.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the telephone call from the user is received at theuser's home telephone number.
 10. An article of manufacture comprisingat least one computer readable medium encoded with instructions that,when executed by at least one computer, perform a method for remotelyrequesting information and/or services from at least one remote serviceserver through a personal computer, the method comprising: receiving, atthe personal computer, a telephone call from a user that is registeredwith the personal computer, wherein the telephone call is a calloriginating from a device remote from the personal computer; receiving auser spoken utterance over the telephone call; performing speechrecognition on the user spoken utterance to determine a request forinformation and/or a service; formatting an electronic message accordingto the request; using one or more client software applications executingon the personal computer to send the electronic message over acommunication network from the personal computer to the at least oneremote service server and to receive content at the personal computerfrom the at least one remote service server; converting the content tospeech audio at the personal computer; and playing the speech audio tothe user over the telephone call.
 11. The article of manufacture ofclaim 10, wherein the personal computer is in the user's home.
 12. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the personal computer isowned by the user.
 13. The article of manufacture of claim 10, whereinthe personal computer comprises a portable computer.
 14. The article ofmanufacture of claim 10, wherein the user pays no fee to an owner of thepersonal computer for access to the personal computer.
 15. The articleof manufacture of claim 10, wherein the telephone call from the user isreceived at the user's home telephone number.
 16. A personal computerprogrammed to request information and/or services from at least oneremote service server on behalf of a user that is registered with thepersonal computer, the personal computer comprising: a telephoneconnection to receive a telephone call from the user at the personalcomputer, wherein the telephone call is a call originating from a deviceremote from the personal computer, wherein the telephone connection iscapable of receiving a user spoken utterance over the telephone call; aspeech recognizer to recognize the user spoken utterance to determine arequest for information and/or a service; at least one client softwareapplication to format an electronic message according to the request andto send the electronic message from the personal computer over thecommunication network to the at least one remote service server and toreceive content from the at least one remote service server at thepersonal computer; and a text-to-speech synthesizer to convert thecontent to speech audio and play the speech audio to the user over thetelephone call.
 17. The personal computer of claim 16, wherein thepersonal computer comprises a portable computer.
 18. The personalcomputer of claim 16, wherein the telephone connection receives thetelephone call from the user at the user's home telephone number. 19.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more client softwareapplications comprise an electronic mail client.
 20. The method of claim1, wherein the one or more client software applications comprise abrowser.